Shadows Lengthen
by shino22
Summary: Naruto is motivated by the mission to Wave. His new determination leads him to find new guidance as he grows into the Ninja he was born to be. What will the future hold for Uzumaki Naruto, determined to always be strong enough to protect what is most precious to him? No Slash. Pairings Undecided.
1. Chapter 1

Shadows Lengthen

Chapter One

"... Naruto I understand what you are asking but I cannot, my role is the Sensei for Team Seven, so I can teach you, but I cannot focus on you alone. The Hokage has given our team the week off due to the circumstances of our mission, I'll see you after that." Hatake Kakashi said with finality, before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Uzumaki Naruto, shoulders slumped, glanced around Training Ground Seven. He had just finished pleading with Kakashi to train him to no avail. The training area was silent but for the rush of wind through the trees and the soft rustle of leaves swaying. The mission to Wave had been a big deal to Naruto. He had seen a friend die (or so he thought), felt the sting of betrayal, been helpless in the face of an enemy, experienced the power and rage of Kyuubi, and seen what happens when a Shinobi comes through a mission successfully. All of that made Naruto feel... inadequate.

The blonde Genin clenched his fists, he had been weak. First the Demon Brothers, then Zabuza, and finally Haku. In every instance he had been weak, and it was only by luck and the power of a demon he had come through. So Naruto had resolved to change things, as Team Seven made its way back to Konoha a small plan had formed. Uzumaki Naruto was going to become a powerful ninja, he would protect his precious people. His first thought had been that he would need help, and Kakashi was his first bet.

"What now?" Naruto wondered aloud. If Kakashi wouldn't train him, then who? "The Old Man."

\\/

"I am looking for someone to train me Old Man!" Naruto shouted as he burst through the doors to the mission office. Stunned silence met that declaration as everyone in the room stood aghast at the commotion. The silence was broken by the light chuckling of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Naruto it is great to see you! Especially after your big mission, an A-rank no less. Have you spent all your money yet?" As irritated as Naruto was to have his demands ignored, money always caught his attention.

"What money?" he demanded. As Naruto neared the desk where the robed leader was sitting the mission room got right back into the swing of things.

"Hmm, Kakashi probably forgot to mention that you need to collect your mission earnings at the desk downstairs 500,000 thousand if I recall correctly," Sarutobi answered. Naruto's jaw dropped, that was more money than he had ever imagined. He quickly recovered in spite of his astonishment over his new riches.

"I still want someone to train me!" The Hokage smiled.

"Naruto if you want someone to train you then there are only two options, you either ask someone to do it or you pay someone to do it. I;however, cannot simply assign another sensei for you." Naruto was about to shout out in anger again, but the Hokage interrupted him. "That isn't to say you cannot get yourself another sensei. My recommendation would be to head over to some of the higher level training grounds and talk to the Chunin and Jounin there to see if anyone would be willing to teach you."

"Alright old man, you just keep that hat ready." With that Naruto turned around and went to collect his new fortune.

\\/

Training Ground 37 was Naruto's latest stop, the last four training grounds had yielded little results. Training Ground 37 was enormous, there was a stream bubbling along the path into the training ground all around it was heavily forested. As he walked Naruto began to hear an odd collection of sounds emanating from ahead. He quickly reached the end of the path that opened up into a wide field where the stream he had followed met a larger river. What Naruto saw upon entering the field caused him to stop short.

There before him were two ninja, one wielding a black sword the other throwing senbon needles almost faster than Naruto could see. The man with the sword had a forehead protector worn in the traditional fashion and had spiky brown hair, he was busy deflecting a storm of senbon thrown at him by the other ninja. This one wore his forehead protector on a bandana, but his brown hair was still visible and he strangely had a senbon sitting in his mouth like a toothpick. Naruto watch the scene in awe, hardly believing how fast the second ninja could throw senbon, and amazed by how the sword-wielding shinobi was able to deflect every last one.

As he continued to observe he barely noticed the crow that landed on the ground before him, then, without warning, the crow burst into smoke obscuring his vision.

"Well what do we have here?" came a jovial voice through the smoke. Waving his hands wildly Naruto attempted to clear the smoke.

"Hey, hey! Who's there?" he shouted. The smoke cleared and before him stood the two shinobi he had been watching looking curiously at him, and a third shinobi who wore dark sunglasses and had spiky dark hair.

"Isn't that what we should be asking you? This is our training ground after all," questioned the bandana wearing ninja in an even tone. Naruto began scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Oh yeah sorry, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. That was awesome Bandana-man, how did you throw those Senbon so fast? And how did you block them all Scarface?" Naruto asked excitedly. The three older men took a moment taking stock of the features that had earned them impromptu nicknames.

"My my so many questions, for now I am Yamashiro Aoba," answered the one with sunglasses.

"Shiranui Genma," said the bandana-inn.

"Namiashi Raido, so what are you doing here Uzumaki?" queried the final ninja. All three raised their eyebrows in question. Naruto looked at the three ninja and set his jaw.

"I am looking for someone to teach me, I want to be a better ninja... I want to be the best ninja this village has ever seen," he replied firmly.

"Why do you want to be the best, I've heard you want to be Hokage some day, is that it?" Genma asked. Naruto's features took on a solemn slant.

"I do want to be Hokage... But more than that I want to be able to protect the people who are precious to me." The three Jounin caught one another's eyes as a silent communication took place between the three of them.

"Do you have Team Training tomorrow Naruto?" Aoba asked. Naruto shook his head in the negative.

"Very well, be here at dawn tomorrow," Raido said.

"Are you serious?! You guys will teach me stuff?" Naruto asked with obvious excitement.

"Yeah we'll help you out Uzumaki, but it won't be easy and if we catch you slacking off even one bit its over. We are Jounin and our time is valuable so come ready to do whatever we ask," Genma instructed, and Naruto nodded furiously in agreement. He was so excited!

"Naruto, if we see you wearing that orange monstrosity tomorrow the deal is off," said Aoba with a smirk.

"What?! What is wrong with this jumpsuit? Orange is the favored color of the gods!"

"You want to be a real shinobi, you want to get better?" At Naruto's nods Aoba continued. "Then the first step is to look the part, right now you look like a kid who wants to be a ninja. Tomorrow I expect you to look like a ninja. Use some of that A-Rank money you got to buy some decent ninja gear, try Konoha Outfitter, they are the best in town." Naruto nodded sadly looking down at his first true love.

"Dawn Uzumaki," Raido said, with that the three disappeared.

\\/

It took Naruto about an hour to track down Konoha Outfitter, it turned out to be a huge warehouse on the opposite end of town from his apartment. When the blonde walked in he was stunned at the sheer volume of gear, clothes, and supplies available.

"I'm Higarashi Mu, welcome to Konoha Outfitters! It is good to see a new Genin come to Konoha's finest Shinobi Shop," came the booming voice of an enormous man who swept into the entryway to greet Naruto.

"Uhh, you know who I am?" asked Naruto cautiously, he hadn't had the best of luck with most store owners in Konoha. The man smiled widely and slapped him on the back.

"Of course, Uzumaki Naruto, local hero!" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, no one had ever said that before.

"Hero?" The man smiled leading him into the store.

"The Fourth Hokage was one of my best customers, and I counted him a friend. I figure that if he wanted you to be known as a hero than that's the way it should be, plus I am familiar with his prowess at Fuinjutsu, sealing that is," he finished with a knowing wink toward Naruto's midsection.

"Thanks Mr. Higarashi! So does that mean I get a discount?" Naruto asked excitedly. The man's countenance turned stormy.

"There are no discounts in this store," he said with violence in his voice. Then, with a flash, he was back to his sunny self. "What are you shopping for?"

It took Naruto a moment to recover from that mood swing before he answered, "Some new clothes." Mu eyed him for a brief moment speculatively before nodding.

"That makes perfect sense, you'll find clothes in that direction, holler if you have any questions," Mu exclaimed as he pointed to the far end of the warehouse.

Naruto quickly thanked the burly man and moved toward row after row of ninja clothing. There was mesh, armor, gis, and everything in between and before long Naruto was simply wandering around overwhelmed by the selection.

"Uzumaki Naruto? What are you doing here?" came a familiar voice. Turning Naruto spotted a pretty blonde girl wearing a purple top with white arm-warmers.

"Ino?" Naruto asked, he hadn't seen the girl in months. She smiled prettily.

"Is Sasuke here?" she asked eagerly. Had Naruto not been nearly comatose from shopping he probably would have been angry but he hardly noticed her excitement.

"No, just me, I am shopping for some new clothes," Naruto said distractedly. Now the gleam in Ino's eye became dangerous, had Naruto been a better trained Ninja or man he would have known to escape and run, run as fast as he could.

"Really?" Ino replied eying him up and down. "Could I help you?" Naruto turned with a wide-eyed look, no one offered to help him, this was turning out to be a great day!

"You would do that? That would be amazing Ino," Naruto said with a grin. Ino's grin took on a predatory look.

"Oh I look forward to it Naruto." With that she grabbed Naruto's arm with an iron grip and began to drag him down aisle after aisle filling his arms with clothing. It wasn't long before Naruto realized that he maybe in trouble.

**3 hours 46 minutes and 21 seconds later (according to Naruto's "rough estimation")**

"I think you are set Naruto," Ino proclaimed in satisfaction. She had coerced him into buying clothing for everyday use around town, along with what he needed for his training and work as a Ninja. Naruto stood before her in what they (she) had decided should be Naruto's regular ninja garb. It consisted of Naruto's regular forehead protector with a black cloth substituted. He wore a long sleeve black undershirt with a gray flak-vest over the top. Baggy black training pants were tucked into black shinobi sandals that wrapped higher than normal to halfway up his shin. Taped to his right leg was his kunai pouch, and to the left side of his lower back was his equipment pouch. He had forearm protectors with a matte black metal plate one the back of each forearm. All in all Naruto felt dangerous.

"I like it," Naruto said in satisfaction. Ino took a moment to look at the blonde ninja before nodding in agreement.

"It is a big improvement Naruto, I do good work," the blonde member of Team 10 said smugly with a light blush to her cheeks, the boy really did look presentable.

"Thanks so much Ino, you are the best," he shouted giving her a hug, Ino sputtered.

"You can't just hug a lady like that Naruto you idiot!" Naruto just laughed scratching the back of his head. "Oh whatever you are welcome. I need to go Naruto I'll see you around, tell Sasuke and Sakura hi for me." Ino waved as she left. Naruto waved back as he made his way up to the register delicately balancing the load of clothing Ino had left him with.

"It looks like you had a lady helping you shop, someone special?" Mu asked with a twinkle in his eye. Naruto sputtered in disbelief.

"No! Just Ino we were classmates in Academy and she helped me out," Naruto defended. Mu just smiled as he rang up the purchases, he loved it when a woman did the shopping.

"Whatever you say Naruto, now you have got all the clothing you could ever hope for, is there any equipment or weapons that you need right now?" Naruto pulled a Kunai out looking at it carefully, there were some chips in the blade and the balance seemed off. "Are all you weapons in that condition?" Mu asked in a choked tone. Looking up Naruto saw that the man was looked scandalized by the state of his weapons. Naruto nodded in embarrassment.

"I find most of them by looking around training grounds and picking up the weapons that other ninja leave behind, I could never afford my own set." There was a flash of fire in the storekeepers eyes before he responded.

"I'll make you a deal, you trade in the used stuff you scavenge around town and in return I will sell you new weapons at half price." Quick as a wink Naruto emptied all his Kunai, Shuriken, and even a number of Senbon he picked up after the Wave ordeal onto the counter. Mu placed each of the types of weapon into different containers and passed the new sets to Naruto who eagerly stuck them into his weapons pouch.

"Thanks so much Mu you are the man!" Naruto shouted as he paid his bill and took off running.

"No problem kid, it's the least I can do," the man said to himself with a sad smile.

After a quick stop (only 15 bowls) at Ichiraku's for dinner Naruto was back in his apartment crawling into bed.

"Tomorrow is going to be an even better day," he murmured with hope.

**a/n – Yo! So Genma, Raido, and Aoba will be taking turns with our hero. No SLASH! The third member of the Fourth's Guard is never named so I am making it Aoba. This story is AU so assume anything that doesn't agree with the canon falls under the AU category. Higarashi Mu is Tenten's dad, I'll stick with the Fanon on that part. ****Don't**** expect Godlike Naruto he is 13, but expect him to be competent as things move forward and increasingly powerful. The Chunin Exams will be different because of that. After a chapter describing Naruto's training we'll get into the Chunin Exams. **

**Read and Review please.**


	2. Chapter 2

Shadows Lengthen

Chapter Two

Naruto was up with his alarm clock at 4:30 am, and quickly threw on his clothing and rushed through a couple instant cups of ramen. Then as fast as he could manage made his way through the twilight town of Konoha. Leaping from roof to roof Naruto took a moment to marvel how big an effect the tree walking exercise had on his mobility, not only was he able to leap further when he enhanced his legs with Chakra, but he could also land and spring off of a far more varied type of obstacles. Before long Naruto was leaping through the trees and finally landed silently at the edge of the beautiful meadow that made up a portion of Training Ground 37. As the night began to shift to day the anticipation of training with his new Sensei was really beginning to get to him.

"Yo! Naruto good morning," came Aoba's voice as the man landed in the meadow nearby. His greeting was soon joined by Genma and Raido's as the arrived moments later.

"Good morning Senseis!" Naruto shouted eagerly.

"Looking good Naruto I like the new outfit, did Mu treat you okay?" asked Genma. Naruto nodded his affirmation.

"Yeah I was able to get a bunch of stuff and even got new throwing weapons! He can be pretty scary though."

"Did you ask him for a discount?" asked Raido quietly. Naruto nodded with a shiver remember the kindly man's brief transformation. The three older nin shivered as well.

"Never ask for a discount... just never," Aoba uttered in muted fear. The shinobi took a moment of silence to collect their thoughts before Genma spoke up.

"Alright you are hear on time, your outfit is much improved so we are set, let me explain how this will work," seeing he had Naruto's utmost attention Genma went on. "Now the three of us are busy Special Jounin, we have missions, training of our own, and personal lives. What that means is none of us will be taking you on as a full time student." Naruto was about to protest but Raido motioned him to be silent. "You will be trained adequately in spite of that. The three of us will work out the scheduling so that at least one of us is always here to work with you, is that acceptable?" Naruto could only shake his head with glee as he considered what was being offered, training from not one but three elite Ninja!

The group spent several minutes discussing the schedule, and how things would work after Naruto finished his week off before continuing.

"Alright Naruto, to start off Aoba here is going to work with you today as Raido and I have other business to take care of, we'll be back sometime this afternoon," said Genma. With that the two ninja disappeared in a burst of smoke leaving Naruto and Aoba alone in Training Ground 37.

"So Naruto, let me tell you what we will be working on together. I am an Intelligence Ninja first and foremost, thus my expertise lies less in direct combat and more in the other aspects of being a Shinobi. Namely: Intelligence, Stealth and Tracking, and Strategy. You and I are going to be working on shaping you into being a Ninja. Too often Genin and Academy students put all their focus on Combat, which is important no doubt, but it is actually the other things that make us Ninja rather than say Samurai. Are you following me?" Aoba instructed.

"Uh, I guess so. You are saying there is more to being a Ninja that shooting fireballs and kicking ass," Naruto said with a frown of concentration. Aoba chuckled slightly before leading Naruto to a collection of rocks where they both sat down.

"More or less, let me describe it in more practical terms. Now suppose you are given a mission to take down a certain target, a powerful Ninja. A Samurai who focuses solely on combat would decide to attack the best way they can think of. A Ninja, wouldn't necessarily do that. A Ninja would say what is the easiest way to defeat this opponent. Perhaps poison his food, or wait until he is tired after a training session. Coerce someone else to fight him to either kill or weaken him. A Ninja might gather information about the enemy's weaknesses and attack him in that fashion. Do you see the difference now?" Naruto sat sagely for a moment before responding.

"So Ninja don't necessarily just attack, we defeat them in whatever way is easiest? Isn't that cheating?" he asked. Aoba smiled.

"Every good Shinobi cheats as much as he can get away with." Naruto was shocked by that statement, so Aoba continued to drive the point home.

"Your latest mission to Wave is another good example. Your team was very lucky to complete your objective with no losses despite confronting the enemy directly. There were other options you could have considered that would have been more favorable. The mission report says Zabuza stopped attacking you once Gato turned on him. You could have simply assassinated Gato, a rich civilian, rather than face two powerful Shinobi in direct combat, and in all likelihood that would have completed your objective." Naruto was stunned by that declaration. "You could have gone after Zabuza when you knew he was injured and tried to kill him then. You could have sabotaged Gato's shipping business so he would no longer have the resources to hire anyone to threaten the client. So you see there are often a number of ways to tackle a problem when you think like a Shinobi," Aoba finished with a smirk.

"Woah, Aoba Sensei, you are really smart. How can I learn to do that?" Naruto asked in awe.

"We are going to make use of the Prankster reputation you have," Aoba smiled. Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion. "You are going to learn by doing Naruto. There is a man in Konoha named Jada Ryu he is in possession of a red box 5 by 7 inches and only about an inch tall. Bring it to me within 4 hours, go." Naruto looked at him.

"Wha..." Naruto began. Aoba stood up and pointed.

"GO!" he yelled. So Naruto sprung into action, leaping his way back to Konoha proper, his mind running a thousand miles an hour.

\\/

Jada Ryu it turned out was a restaurant owner in Konoha whose restaurant was near the Hokage's Tower and whose home was in the residential district of town. Naruto had found his way to the man's home while it was still early enough in the morning that no one was out and about yet. The blonde Genin had spent the next 30 minutes watching the man and checking out his two story home, trying to spot the little red box he had been instructed to retrieve. He had found it sitting on the man's bedside table. That is what led Naruto to where he was currently, crouched on the roof of the man's house in a corner where two walls met and he had some cover listening to the commotion inside through an open window.

"... the restaurant is on fire?!" came a shout from inside. "Of course I will be there right away." Naruto sucked in his breath as he heard the sounds of Jada Ryu rushing through his home collecting whatever he needed before the door banged open and shut and Naruto could see the man running down the street.

"Just a couple of slow release smoke bombs I rigged up inside," Naruto whispered to himself with a grin. He quickly slipped inside through the open window he had been listening through and swiped the red box. With a flash the young nin was leaping from roof to roof as quick as he could back towards Training Ground 37. "That was pretty easy, Aoba Sensei knows what he is talking about with this cheating stuff."

Just minutes later Naruto landed in the meadow he had met his senseis in just hours before to find Aoba in the exact same spot that he had left him. Just as Naruto was about to shout his success, Aoba held up his hand to silence him and beckoned for the box, which Naruto was quick to hand over.

"Nice work Naruto," Aoba commented. Naruto's face brightened at the simple praise.

"Thanks Aoba Sensei, what you said really worked. I probably could have just gone straight in and stolen the box, but it was way easier by cheating."

"Not cheating Naruto, that is just taking on problems indirectly, that is thinking like a real Shinobi."

"Yeah! All I did was find a phone book that listed Jada's address, and spied on him at his house. I saw a bunch of stuff for Ryu's Chicken Palace and guessed that he was the owner of the restaurant. All I had to do was set off some smoke bombs at his place and he took off running, he didn't even bother to lock up," Naruto relayed with pride. Aoba smiled encouragingly.

"I know I saw the whole thing," he answered to Naruto's surprise. "Now let's talk about some other ways you could have accomplished your goal." So Naruto sat down across from Yamashiro thinking, _'This stuff is kinda cool,'._

\\/

"Alright Usumaki attack me with everything you've got, no jutsu, just taijutsu and whatever weapons you wish," Raido instructed. The blonde and the scarred Jounin were standing about 30 feet apart facing one another as Raido gave his instructions. Aoba and Naruto had finished their training time together with a game of hide and seek, to work on Naruto's stealth and tracking. The moment they had concluded that bit of training Namiashi Raido had entered the meadow ready to take over Naruto's tutelage for the time being.

"You got it Raido Sensei!"

Naruto remembered Kakashi giving him the exact same instructions and knew to take this command with absolute sincerity. The darkly clad blonde lept forward as fast as he could, letting loose a barrage of shuriken, which he followed into combat. Raido sidestepped the shuriken and Naruto adjusted his trajectory accordingly, only for Raido to suddenly drop and sweep his legs out from under him sending the Genin flying. Naruto turned his landing into a roll and popped up dashing back towards Raido full speed. Leading with a flying jab Naruto was blocked as the Jounin slid to the outside using his right forearm to deflect the jab. Raido followed the block with a swift left-handed punch to Naruto's ribs that again sent him flying.

The fight continued in this vein for about 10 minutes Naruto flying in for the attack, and Raido neatly avoiding or blocking the attack and sending the youngster flying. It was after the umpteenth time that Raido finally called the "spar" to a halt.

"Hold on Naruto." Naruto stopped his rush short, as the older nin held up his hand. "I have seen just about all I need from this spar. All I need you to do is show me Kata One of the Academy Taijutsu Style." Naruto laughed nervously at the request.

"Umm, I don't know that one Sensei," he finally got out. Namiashi nodded, indicating he already assumed that to be true.

"As far as I can tell you have never had any Taijutsu training Naruto, how can that be?" he asked. Naruto kicked a pebble absently stalling for time though there was no escape.

"Mizuki taught Taijutsu and he made up excuses for me to leave class nearly every time Raido Sensei," he finally answered. That brought a frown to the normally collected face of one of the former Yondaime's personal guards. He said nothing for a moment as he oriented his thoughts.

"Very well, we will be dedicating a significant amount of our time together instructing you in my style, Crashing Wave." The young blonde's face lit up like a Christmas Tree, he may not be the sharpest kunai in the village but he understood how important Taijutsu really was.

"That is amazing Namiashi Sensei! You rule!" Raido allowed a small smile to grace his features, _'It is a shame this boy has been so under privileged,' _he thought. He said nothing as Naruto was busy doing a shimmy and shouting about becoming a Hokage and "Kicking tons of ass!".

"Listen up Uzumaki, Crashing Wave is the Taijutsu style of the Namiashi family, there are few of us left so you need to understand that it is a big honor to learn this style as someone who is not a part of my family." Naruto's eyes grew large as he began to absorb the enormous gift he was being offered. "The style can be understood by explaining several ideas. The first is that water takes its shape from it's surroundings. If you pour water into a bowl it takes that shape, if you pour it into a vase it takes the shape of the vase. In the same way Crashing Wave is a Taijutsu that takes it's "shape" from its surroundings. The way your opponent attacks, the way the terrain is set around you; all of these "shape" Crashing Wave from fight to fight. Do you understand?" Naruto had sat down during the instruction and appeared to be in minor pain from concentration, a tight nod was all Raido got in response and he considered that a good thing.

**(a/n – Namiashi Raido Nami means Wave)**

"Next is the idea of a "wave", which I am sure you saw plenty of on your most recent mission. When a wave meets resistance, say a rock, the wave crashes around the rock. In Crashing Wave, the goal of each individual engagement is to maneuver around your opponent to put yourself in a favorable position compared to him or her. Remember how when you threw a punch at me I shifted outside so that you were almost facing away from me, but I was facing your side or back which allowed me to hit you in unprotected areas?"

"Yeah that hurt a lot!" Naruto complained while rubbing his sore ribs.

"That is the point," Raido agreed to Naruto's chagrin. "Finally you need to understand the aspect of "crashing". What happens when a child gets hit by a large wave?"

"The get knock over," Naruto answered.

"Exactly, what happens to a rock on the beach when a wave crashes over it?"

"Nothing," Naruto finally answered after a moment of thought.

"That isn't quite true, what happens to a rock is that over time that rock gets ground down into the sand that covers the shoreline. Do you see the point?" Naruto frown once more nodded his head negatively. "The Crashing Wave style attempts to defeat enemies by applying as much force as possible in each blow. The result is simple, weaker foes will be toppled quickly and even facing powerful enemies a sustained barrage of forceful blows will eventually grind them to nothing. Relentless power is the idea Naruto." Raido finished his speech with a little passion leaking through; the man was passionate about his family's style.

Now Naruto understood about half of what his Sensei was explaining, that was fine, because for Naruto he understood the most important point.

"Crashing Wave sounds Awesome!"

"Indeed it is Uzumaki. Now let's begin with understanding some starting stances, foot work is the key to this style. Then we will begin training your body to work in conjunction with your new style."

\\/

Shiranui Genma had been a ninja of Konohagakure for some time and in that time he had seen a lot of ninja come and go. As he had watched Uzumaki Naruto work for the last week he was certain of one thing, he had never met anyone with such a drive to achieve as this young man. The boy was currently working on one of his kata's on top of the water of the river running through training ground 37. The boy had picked up Water Walking, after two days of tireless work. In conferring with Raido and Aoba the three partners had confirmed similar success and tough-mindedness on the part of one Uzumaki Naruto. Laughingly Aoba had summed up their collective thought regarding their new student.

"Well we were trained by a Hokage and now it seems we may just have a hand in training a Hokage of our own." Raido and Genma agreed, Uzumaki Naruto had the work ethic to achieve his farfetched dream.

As Naruto summed a trio of Shadow Clones to spar with, Genma reviewed for a moment what the blonde ninja had learned in their first week together.

"The Body Flicker Technique, Water-Walking, Water Release: Gunshot, and Earth Release: Tunneling," Genma muttered shaking his head. He had ordered Naruto out onto the water because he needed to come up with a new plan of attack, the kid blasted through his first month of training planning in a week! Of course he had yet to truly perfect any of the techniques, but perfection was a matter of practice and experience, not something a teacher can simply instruct. "I suppose I just need to move him into full speed spars." While Naruto was getting his Taijutsu spars done with Raido, and his strategy and "cheating" done with Aoba, to Genma fell the task of supplying an environment to put all of Naruto's abilities to the test at one time.

"Naruto that's enough get over here," Genma called as Naruto dispelled his final clone. The Genin dashed forward to meet his instructor an excited look on his face.

"Hey! Sensei what awesome technique are you going to show me next?" Naruto cried excitedly. Genma gave the boy a smirk, before kicking him upside the head as quick as a flash.

"Next I am going to teach you the valuable lesson of experience! **Fire Release: Grand Fireball!**" he shouted launching a cow-sized fireball at his protégé. The look of shock on Naruto's face was priceless as he collided with a tree, in Genma's opinion at least, but his face became serious as he saw a ball of fire careening toward him.

As the smoke from Genma's fire technique cleared he saw the smoldering remains of a log used for the Replacement Technique.

"Good boy Naruto," the Jounin muttered out loud as he absently chewed on his senbon needle. He gazed around him trying to locate the tricky blonde, the stories Aoba told him about Naruto's talent for stealth and mayhem making him wary. Genma tensed and lept backward as a Shadow Clone erupted from the ground right where he had just been standing, it was quickly dispelled by a senbon to the eye. Genma turned to block a kick that had been aimed for his midsection sent by another replica of Naruto. A trio a quick jabs dispersed that annoyance and Genma quickly grabbed the kunai that was thrown at his face through the smoke released by the clone. Tossing the blade back in the direction it came from Genma took to the trees.

The initiative quickly shifted as the seasoned Jounin located Naruto hidden halfway up one of Konoha's famed trees. Moving swiftly Genma managed to catch the blonde with a left to the chin that sent him flying to the ground, and three senbon peppered his left leg before he recovered. In decent time Naruto responded with a technique of his own.

"**Water Release: Gunshot**!" Naruto yelled, releasing one, watermelon sized, bullet. Sidestepping the missile, Genma noted that the boy had improved on the technique since last he saw it within another week he figured Naruto would be able to launch two bullets. Genma bit back a grimace as a pair of shuriken clipped him for his lack of attention. Dropping to the ground he engaged the smaller ninja in hand-to-hand combat. Naruto was managing to block or evade his share of the other ninja's blows but after fifteen seconds the onslaught became to much and a snap kick made its way through the Genin's guard.

Genma quickly noticed two problems, first was all he had hit was another log, courtesy of Naruto's replacement, and second the telltale hiss of an explosive note. Genma was able to Body Flicker away, avoiding damage. "Clever," Genma almost felt that Naruto had lured him into that close combat just for the sake of dropping the explosive note… almost. The bandana bearing nin quickly found Naruto laboring through the trees slightly hampered by his injured leg. Genma was just about to engage when a duo of Shadow Clones intercepted him with a flurry of shuriken. Another Body Flicker and Genma appeared right in Naruto's path slamming him in the chest with a palm thrust and sending him flying.

The darkly clad Genin, landed with a thud and a groan in the midst of the clearing, Genma appeared a moment later senbon set between his lips.

"Not bad Naruto, almost got me with that note, and your Gunshot has really improved."

"Damn it Genma Sensei you hit hard! Why the heck didn't you tell me we were going to spar?!" Giving the youngster a hand Genma pulled him to his feet.

"No enemy is going to inform you of his or her intentions before attacking, so suck it up." Naruto starred at him defiantly for a moment before responding with a rugged grin.

"Let's go again."

**a/n – Before anyone protests about Naruto using Water and Earth techniques go look up the way elemental jutsu work on Narutopedia. It is easier to use Jutsu that you have the affinity for but not impossible to use the rest. Pairings are undecided as of yet. What do you think of Aoba, Genma, and Raido? I plan on them teaching Naruto quite a bit more. Next chapter begins Chunin Exams. If you feel like I am rushing just know it is because stories with 15 chapters of training and know story bug me.**

**Read and Review please.**


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